In response to Scott McLeod...

http://filmrd.edublogs.org/2010/03/09/interesting-letter-from-scott-mcleod-coordinator-of-the-educational-administration-program-at-iowa-state-university/ (Letter written by Scott McLeod to the Ames School District).

Scott McLeod raises several important issues in his letter to fellow citizens of Ames and to the Ames School Board Members. McLeod is quick to congratulate members of his community on their dedication to education and their advanced knowledge of math and science, thereby winning his readers over right off the bat and making them more apt to agree with his statements about technology in education. McLeod points out that not only is there an achievement gap between different income levels, there is also an achievement gap between what students are being expected to learn in school and what they are expected to be able to do in the job market. I could not agree more with McLeod on this front. Yes, reading and writing will always be important. but we need to teach our children to be literate in the "new literacies" of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online news sources. It is a shame that many students will never be in a classroom where there are enough computers for everyone and will only focus on reading from a paperback book in front of them. This will not serve our children when they go off to be scientists, doctors, lawyers, designers, etc. We must equip our students with the tools that will aid them in the future, not the tools that may have been helpful 50 years ago. It is important to reach out to all teachers and administrators to try to get them on the same page in terms of skills and technology for all students. This type of shift in thinking must be a collaborative effort and will not be achieved overnight, but will, no doubt, benefit our students in the long run.